Next to tomatoes from your own garden, there’s nothing better than in-season tomatoes from the farmers market especially heirlooms. In the Bay Area they can be pricey at $5 a pound or higher so imagine my excitement when I saw these gorgeous heirlooms at $2 a pound! I couldn’t pass up a steal like that.
Backstory
I planned on making fattoush this weekend using regular tomatoes but, luckily, inspiration in combination with a great deal took me in a slightly different direction and I’m absolutely okay with that.
Fattoush is an eastern Mediterranean bread salad made up of pieces of Arabic flatbread such as pita. By either toasting or frying the pita and incorporating it in a salad, this was a clever way to use up stale bread instead of discarding it. I’m always a fan of using up food in the kitchen that might otherwise go bad. It’s one of my 15 tips on meal planning on a budget which, if you haven’t read it, you can find it here.
This salad closely resembles the Tuscan version called Panzanella with a few key differences. While this salad is quite flexible in terms of adding ingredients that you have on hand, Fattoush traditionally is made up of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, toasted or fried pieces of pita, mint, parsley, radish, and lettuce, with a lemon and oil dressing.
The other important ingredient which distinguishes a Fattoush salad is sumac, a beautifully deep red-colored spice made from the berry that grows on the shrub of the same name. Sumac has a tart flavor reminiscent of citrus and is commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine. You can easily find sumac at your local Middle Eastern specialty grocer but you can also find it at Whole Foods or online if that’s more convenient for you.
Optional ingredients for fattoush include:
- Red bell pepper
- Green bell pepper
- Carrot
- Pomegranate
- Red cabbage
- Feta
This recipe was inspired by two resources including the recipe found in the article by Felicity Cloake in The Guardian which, by the way, is a great article on fattoush, and the recipe from The Kitchn.
This is a great way to enjoy summer vegetables but to also empty out your fridge of veggies about to go bad. A win-win in my book!
In Conclusion
The next time you have some pita or flatbread that’s about to go stale, don’t throw it away! Instead, toast and add them in a fattoush salad using in-season produce for a delicious and filling summer meal. Give it a try and let me know how you personalize your fattoush? Bon appétit!
Fattoush Salad with heirloom tomatoes
Ingredients
- 3 medium tomatoes chopped ($3.60)
- 2 cups romaine lettuce chopped ($0.75)
- 2 japanese cucumbers chopped ($0.00)
- 3 green onions thinly sliced ($0.20)
- 1/2 cup parsley chopped ($0.75)
- 1/2 cup mint chopped ($0.75)
- 2 radishes sliced ($0.36)
- 2 pita breads ($0.52)
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil ($0.36)
- 1/2 cup lemon juice ($0.00)
- 1/2 cup olive oil ($0.96)
- 2-3 garlic cloves mashed ($0.10)
- 2 tsp sumac ($0.24)
Instructions
- Prepare all your ingredients.
- Make the salad dressing. Combine all the ingredients (olive oil, lemon juice, sumac and garlic) into a bowl and whisk. Set aside.
- Toast the pita bread in a toaster oven until golden brown. (Alternatively, you can bake in 350 degree F oven until fully crisp, about 8-10 min.) Let cool slightly. In a bowl break into bite-sized pieces and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt. Gently toss. Set aside.
- Combine all remaining ingredients (except radishes) in large bowl. Add half of salad dressing and toss, slowly adding more as needed.
- When ready to serve, top with radish and pita crisps. Sprinkle with additional sumac if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
* Note regarding pricing: The lemon and Japanese cucumber used in this recipe are from my garden which is why there is no price listed. The price for the pantry items such as olive oil takes into account the cost of the amount used for the recipe and not the cost if you had to purchase the entire jar or bottle. ** All prices in US dollars.